dianaschnuth

Despite my assertion that I would get to bed early after a day of being exhausted for no good reason (except lack of sleep, I suppose), I’m still at my computer, twiddling with my “story.” Well, my most recent long and unfinished story, anyway. The one I worked on for NaNoWriMo 2005, I believe it was.

I’ve been listening to my backlogged episodes of I Should Be Writing, and have (unfortunately) started getting the writing bug again. I say this is unfortunate because I have a list of other creative and quasi-creative projects that are much higher on the priority list than fiction-writing. So, in lieu of getting wrapped up in my world of love-struck vampires (I really should read up and see how effing cheesy my premise is, compared to other valid plots within the genre), I went technical and decided to reformat the 16,000 words I have into standard manuscript format.

The last time I had touched my story was November 2, 2006 at 10:46pm. I’m sure I’d edited the wiki since then — jeez, maybe not. Only a few days later. Guess I really haven’t worked on this in quite a while. At any rate, going through and adding a pound sign in all the scene breaks allowed me to skim through the story and see things that jumped out either as ridiculous or as needing more detail.

My start of a manuscript was 35 pages before reformatting. Now, double-spaced in Courier font with one-inch margins, it’s 75 pages. I’m so used to seeing computer-generated type that looking at a layout that simulates the typewritten page seems odd and blocky.

Once I finish my laundry list of job-hunting-related and other website responsibilities, I have a good part of my story in my head, ready to go. I just need to type it out. And make it sound right. (Aye, there’s the rub.) I have my offline wiki “story bible” underway (thankfully — there’s a lot I can forget in a year), and I really, REALLY want to finish this story.

Remember, this is my second attempt at a potential novel or novella. My first “real” attempt at novel-length fiction is a good premise, but I’m afraid it’s going to need a complete rewrite, and I’m not even halfway through it yet, and I haven’t touched it in… *checks file* …wow. Almost three years. Main setting/plot points to that one: Matrix-esque Arthur-C-Clarkian headgear for direct information transfer, mobsters infiltrating the police, virtual crime and violence, a subplot of racism vs. cultural pride, and the requisite love interest. The trouble with that one is the setting, really. And all the crazy subplots. I want it to be something I would enjoy reading, but I don’t know how it all fits together yet. I want to jump into the future and read it and be entranced by the story, instead of having to figure out the story myself. You know?

One other thing I wanted to write here before I go crash out without making my lunch: I was listening to the Motivation to Move podcast the other day, and Scott Smith rattled off a quick but fascinating list of questions to ask yourself about a situation or decision you may be having trouble resolving. I thought these questions would also be great writing questions to determine character motivations and plot possibilities:

1. What would happen if I did?
2. What would happen if I didn’t?
3. What wouldn’t happen if I did?
4. What wouldn’t happen if I didn’t?

Seems bizarre and circular to just look at the questions, but think about what they really mean. You could use these for plot points, for character decisions, for all kinds of writing-related issues. Just wanted to throw those out there, so I’d remember them later.

And with that, my readers, I am going to sleep.

P.S. – Is it bad form to ask your First Reader to read your work-in-progress? I feel like I want feedback on where the story is going before it gets there, so I can rein it back and take it elsewhere if it’s getting dumb and cliché.

I wrote nearly 1,000 words tonight, and came up with a more detailed backstory about one character’s genealogy. I also wrote out a timeline of events, so I can decide in which month each event happens, so I can more accurately present the setting and all that shit.

Basically, I’m filling out the interpersonal part of the story, because that’s what I’m feeling right now. Later on, I’ll add in more of the supernatural bits, the backstories, the setting and more characterization and all that. For right now, I’m being very juvenile and wanting to write my more emotionally charged scenes — and no, they’re not all love scenes. Actually, I’ll end up having very few of those, all told. I’m going for more tension than actual fan-service. Y’know?

I ended up writing for around three hours tonight, and I wouldn’t have stopped if my brain hadn’t wanted to go to sleep already.

This weekend, I’ll be in Michigan at Youmacon, so that’ll put the kabosh on any writing for a few days. I’m sure I’ll get back into the groove when I get back, though. I’m finally starting to get over my “what do I write next” hurdle, and am just writing *around* the story until I figure out the exact logistics of everything, and the backstories of all the characters and such.

I remember why I enjoy this now.

I am officially NOT participating in NaNoWriMo this year. I am, however, budgeting at least one hour per day (preferably two) during the month of November to work on last year’s NaNo.

Tonight, I successfully rearranged my story bible wiki into a more navigable tree; I fleshed out my female lead’s background and personality; and I rewrote an argument between my male and female leads that had been bothering me and was a big part of why I’d stopped writing on this story. I’d painted myself into a corner, and I’ve successfully unpainted myself with this rewrite. Making the male lead do what he wanted to do, instead of walking off silently and meekly without even a “fuck you,” really added some dimension to their relationship and to their personalities.

I also did some more succubus/incubus research online. There are several resources on the internet that start with, “the only way to kill a succubus is” — and they all end with something different. Burning her. Starving her of sex. Trapping her in her own reflection. And so forth. With all these ideas, though, I’m finally coming up with a halfway decent idea of how my Guild of immortals probably hunts down and destroys incubi and succubi.

I’m not sure what I’ll do tomorrow evening, but I’m sure I’ll make some more headway of some sort.

James: Which is right: “you or I” or “you or me”?
Me: In what context?
James: “Let me know if it is you or I.”
Me: *pauses* “You or I” is right.
James: OK. It sounded right, but I wasn’t sure.
Me: Yeah, it’s “you or I,” because it would be “me” if it were an object, but “is” is a linking verb, so the object would take the same…

*pause*

Me: I just totally geeked out on you, didn’t I?
James: Yeah.

I now have two unfinished stories — at least two, that is — which I think are worth finishing. One I began in 1999, and one I began officially during last year’s National Novel Writing Month, although I had the ideas brewing for a couple of years before that. I also have… *counting* …twelve unfinished stories and one complete short story.

The last thing I need is to start a new project for NaNoWriMo.

If I’d ever successfully “won” NaNoWriMo — that is, written 50,000 words during the month of November — I could invoke the Zokutou Clause, which states:

You have to start your novel from scratch, unless you are a previous NaNoWriMo winner. If you have already attained the status of Winner, you do not need to start a new novel, as your main aim is now to finish one. You can now consider yourself a winner if, by midnight on the 30th of November, you have either:

1. Written 50,000 words on one or more previous works.
2. Completed your novel’s first draft.

I have, however, not written the requisite 50,000 words in one month, so I do not qualify.

14,681 / 50,000 (29.4%)

So, this November, I intend to work on last year’s NaNoWriMo story. I’ve found a sturdy little piece of software to help me write my “story bible”; in fact, it’s already helped me locate one continuity error in the 32 pages (1.5-spaced, not double-spaced) that I’ve written so far.

My plan is to research where my characters hail from, discover their individual backgrounds, and figure out precisely how a team of vampires can capture and kill an incubus without seriously injuring themselves. Hopefully, by the end of November, I will at least have enough backstory figured out so that I can continue writing without worrying about the details that form the basis of the intrigue.

Don’t be surprised if I come to you for help, like I have in the past. I suck at dialogue, which is only a symptom of my general social ineptitude, so I’ll be needing some guidance along the way.